Animating Democracy publishes a range of books, case studies, essays and other tools and resources about civically engaged arts and humanities. Practitioners, scholars, and students interested in the intersection of arts, humanities, culture and civic life will find useful resources here for understanding and undertaking this work. Check out:
New Books from Animating Democracy
Seven new publications share the breadth and depth of findings from the Animating Democracy initiative. These books examine the role of artists and cultural institutions as catalysts, conveners, and initiators of civic dialogue and engagement efforts around important civic issues. They highlight best practices and outcomes from projects implemented by 37 cultural organizations that participated in Animating Democracy from 2000 to 2004, as well as challenges and complexities in arts-based public dialogue work.
As interest grows among civic and community leaders to utilize the arts and humanities as civic agents; and as artists and cultural organizations seek to bring their creative capacities to encourage and facilitate greater civic participation; these timely books offer valuable insight gleaned from the work and voices of pioneering artists, innovative cultural leaders, and committed civic partners.
Case Studies
A growing collection of online case studies provides in-depth portraits and analyses of arts and humanities-based civic dialogue projects, many supported by the Animating Democracy Lab. They offer detailed description of the civic issue addressed by the project, civic and cultural context, project goals, design, arts/humanities activities, and artistic and dialogic methodologies. Case studies also offer analysis of impact and extrapolate lessons learned and issues raised about the principles, practices, and philosophical underpinnings of this work.
Critical Perspectives
Critical Perspectives is both a collection of writings and an experiment in multi-voiced writing about civically engaged art. The collection comprises 12 reflective, critical, and creative essays about the role of arts and humanities in civic dialogue. They focus on three very different projects implemented as part of the Animating Democracy Lab:
- The Dentalium Project, Dell’ Arte theater, Blue Lake, California
- Ties That Bind, MACLA/Movimiento de Arte y Cultural Latino Americana, San Jose, California
- Slave Galleries Restoration Project, St. Augustine’s Church and the Lower East Side Tenement Museum, New York City
As a writing project, Critical Perspectives was designed to respond to observations that existing forms of reflective and critical writing rarely recognize the unique features of civically engaged art and are often inadequate for communicating the multidimensional nature of the work. For each project, four writers bring different professional and personal perspectives to the project. Writers include: arts writers, a journalist, anthropologists, a sociologist, a storyteller, historians, community participants, and project directors. The collection as a whole is discussed in a featured essay by noted cultural writer Lucy Lippard.
To purchase this collection of essays, visit the Americans for the Arts Bookstore.
Recommended Reading
Animating Democracy regularly posts essays, articles, and book reviews from arts, humanities, civic engagement/dialogue and other fields that illuminate this realm of work. New publications from Animating Democracy are also featured here.
Essays and Commissioned Writings
Essays and articles written and commissioned by Animating Democracy explore philosophical, practical, and aesthetic dimensions of civically engaged arts and humanities work. They include: reflective essays inspired by Animating Democracy convenings and other field gatherings, theoretical explorations, and Animating Democracy’s own observations and synthesis of what we are learning.
Americans for the Arts Bookstore
Visit the Americans for the Arts Bookstore to purchase Animating Democracy publications and a host of other books and monographs of related interest in areas of: public art, community development, and community cultural development. The Bookstore also carries publications by Americans for the Arts’ distinguished convention speakers including: August Wilson, Ray Suarez, Chuck D, Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee, Fred Wilson, and Russell Simmons.
